Joseph Harry Silverstein (March 21, 1932 – November 21, 2015) was an American

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and conductor. Known to family, friends and colleagues as "Joey", Silverstein was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. As a youth, Silverstein studied with his father, Bernard Silverstein, who was a public school music teacher. He began studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age 12. His teachers included Efrem Zimbalist, D.C. Dounis,

William Primrose William Primrose (23 August 19041 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed in v ...

, Josef Gingold, and Mischa Mischakoff. Although he never formally completed his high school education, Silverstein did graduate from Curtis in 1950. Following completion of his studies at Curtis, Silverstein played as a section musician with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

, and the Denver Symphony Orchestra. In 1955, Silverstein joined the second violin section of

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

(BSO), the youngest musician in the orchestra at the time. In 1959, he won a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

at the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, and in 1960 he won the ''Naumburg Award'' from the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation. In 1962, Silverstein became BSO concertmaster, a position he held for 22 years. He was appointed assistant conductor of the BSO in 1971. Whilst in Boston, Silverstein performed with other local ensembles such as the Civic Symphony and Banchetto Musicale. He also taught at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

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, and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

as well as serving on the faculty of the Tanglewood Music Center. Silverstein left the BSO in 1984. In 1973, he conducted and soloed with the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. Silverstein was music director of the Utah Symphony from 1983 to 1998. He served as acting music director of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in 2001 until the orchestra's demise in 2003. He was the artistic advisor to the Portland Symphony Orchestra for the 2007–2008 season. In addition to teaching in Boston, he served as a professor of violin at the Curtis Institute of Music. In 1969, he became a faculty artist at the Sarasota Music Festival. Silverstein performed on a 1742 Guarneri del Gesù. Silverstein married Adrienne Shufro in 1954. They had two daughters and a son. At the time of his death in 2015, Silverstein’s widow, children, and four grandchildren survived him.

References

External links

Boston Symphony Orchestra, 'In Memoriam: Joseph Silverstein, March 21, 1932 – November 21, 2015'

Utah Symphony, 'In tribute to Joseph Silverstein'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverstein, Joseph 20th-century American classical violinists 21st-century American classical violinists 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) Jewish American classical musicians New England Conservatory faculty Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition Curtis Institute of Music alumni Classical musicians from Massachusetts Musicians from Boston American male classical violinists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 1932 births 2015 deaths Concertmasters of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra Players of the Houston Symphony

See also

References

External links